You're Over Reacting
by theprancingponyandhippogriff
Summary: Annabeth is pregnant and percy is over reacting.
1. Chapter 1

"That's a great shot- but next time try and aim a little higher above the ground. That way you can avoid shooting Julia's foot…" I said to Gertrude, a 7 year old camper I was training that day. I will never cease to understand why in Hades Chiron put me in charge of archery. The last time I held a bow I nearly shot Grover and I've had 14 years to learn how to do it. You would think that the son of Poseidon would work with water all day and all night, but instead Clarisse takes campers down every day to go canoeing with the different campers. I've begged her to swap with me but she 'insists' that she needs to broaden her horizons. That and the fact that Annabeth is probably paying her.

"Gertrude- why don't you take Julia to the Apollo cabin- see what they can do. Get back here as soon as possible." I said, and Gertrude nodded sadly as she walked off, Julia following behind hopping on her foot while trying not to cry. I tried not to laugh, but it's not exactly easy.

"Percy!" I heard Piper call, after tending to another couple of Aphrodite girls.

"Hey Piper- what's up?" I said and she looked worried. I've learnt to understand a type of look I get a lot. I call it 'the brave look'. It means someone is hiding something bad for the good of the other person while at the same time, has no idea what the hell is going on. Annabeth gives it on a daily basis to me now, and only recently did I figure out exactly what it was.

"Um- nothing really, so don't freak out. It's just that Annabeth sort of- well- she kind of lost consciousness for a minute…" she said slowly, and my head began to spin. The next minute I was sitting down, not really understand the situation. Piper looked at the campers smiling at them, trying to hide the fact that their teacher was having a mental breakdown.

"Let's go." I said, getting up and storming towards the entrance of camp, Piper rushing hurridly behind me.

"Percy no! She told me not to tell you- she didn't want you to freak out over nothing." She said, trying to catch up to me. Fortunately over 4 years of chasing down kids that got into stupid fights about who would win in a WWE match gave me that little extra speed. "Grover" she called behind me, and the next thing I knew, my half-man, half-goat of a best friend bowled me over, taking me with strength I didn't know he had.

"Get off!" I yelled, or tried to. He was sort of sitting on my face, so whatever noise came out of my mouth was muffled through his course goat hair. I really hoped he wouldn't fart. Eventually Grover got off and stretched, though not before I took a couple of helpless punches at his torso.

"Thanks Grover" Piper said, as he shrugged.

"I don't like this…" I said, wiping off some leaves that had stuck themselves on me. Campers walked past with a dazed look on their face.

"What?" Grover asked.

"This- alliance- you two have formed. Just because you're friends and have a mutual hate for me, doesn't mean you can just tackle me whenever." I said and they both laughed.

"We don't hate you." Piper said, with a little twist in her voice. I can never tell if she is using her charm or not.

"Yeah- we just don't like you." Grover joked and I rolled my eyes, getting up and beginning to walk towards the barrier again. This time I made sure to walk at a pace that Piper could catch up to, in partial fear of getting tackled by my best friend again.

"Percy there's nothing to worry about. She's fine- she just coughed a little too hard and hadn't slept much, so she just, lost focus a little." Piper said, but I ignored her.

"I knew I shouldn't have come here. They really don't need me, and besides, why purposely buy a house outside of camp half-blood, only to spend all of your time _at camp half-blood." _I said, and Piper took my arm.

"Are you kidding me- you spend all of your time at home. You literally come here for an hour each day." She said, and I looked away.

"That's not true." I said stubbornly.

"Percy-" she said, looking at her watch- "you literally got here 40 minutes ago." She said, and I grabbed her watch. She was right. I got here at 9:00. It was now 9:40.

"Gods" I said, taken aback. "Maybe I shouldn't come here anymore- at least not until the baby is born." Piper bit her lip as I looked up at her, hoping for an answer.

"No- you should- you're sort of driving Annabeth insane. You worry too much." She said, and I frowned. It took me a minute to realise she was right.

"Well- can I at least see her now?" I asked, and she laughed, nodding.

"For someone that's 23 Percy, you're really a big baby." She said, and I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore the fact that she was right. "I've already organised a cab for you- it's waiting at the bottom of the hill." She said, and I was taken aback.

"How did you know I would go?" I said, and she just laughed.

"Please." She said, as I turned my back jogging down to the car. "Oh and Percy- don't worry about your archery class- I've got it covered. Thanks for asking!" she yelled after me and I cringed. I had completely forgotten I had a class on. The drive in the cab took what felt like forever to get home. To be fair, I was sort of egging him on. That's probably why he had to make a gas stop. When I finally got to our little apartment, I almost forgot to pay the cab driver. Hopefully I won't have to see him for a while.

"Annabeth!" I yelled, knocking on the front door. There was silence on the other side of the door. Maybe she was still asleep? "Annabeth!" I yelled again, ready to knock down the front door. "I'm breaking down the door in a minute." I yelled, trying to hit her weak spot. If there was anything she hated most, it was me targeting the walls that she designed for our house.

"No!" I heard a feeble voice from inside. "Don't come in." she said and I rolled my eyes.

"Don't be such a baby." I said, and I could practically hear her roll her eyes.

"In case you hadn't noticed seaweed brain- I'm growing one inside me!" she said, and I laughed. Then the handle slowly opened (after undoing what seemed like 30 different locks) to open onto a very green looking Annabeth.

"I know I'm over obsessive and clingy, but do I have to go to camp half-blood every day?" I asked, and she sighed.

"Fine- but don't come crying to me when we run out of milk and you have to get it rather than Piper." She said, and I smiled like a kid.

"Great." I said, and she smiled. I leant down for a short kiss, and see gave me a quick one on the cheek. "Oh come on- is that really all I get, after being your night in shining armour." I said, and she walked into our room holding her hand on the door about to shut it.

"Percy, I've thrown up about 3 times today- maybe 4- do you really want to taste last nights dinner when you kiss your beloved girlfriend.

"On second thought…" I joked, as she shut the door in my face, trying to hide her laughter.


	2. Chapter 2

One thing I have to say is that considering Annabeth is the daughter of Athena, you would think she would know how to use a microwave better. Instead she manages to practically blow up our house every day. Handling several _Dracanae_ at once she can do, and well- but heating a day old bowl of spaghetti is what she really struggles with. When I first heard the explosion I grabbed riptide, thinking that maybe a _Nemean Lion _had a bad day and was hoping to take it out on us. I ran to the kitchen, clicking my pen only to find the kitchen in a pool of- butter? Annabeth gave a slight jump when she saw me, holding on to her stomach.

"Percy- what are you doing?" she asked, grabbing a wipe from under the sink, and slowly beginning to mop up the ceiling, which she couldn't reach.

"How are you asking me that- what are _you_ doing. I didn't realise fresh wall paint and butter made- wait- what are you actually making?" I asked, and she turned red.

"I was craving something fatty." She said shyly, as I grabbed the wipe from her and reaching easily up to the ceiling, wiping in different patterns.

"So you went for melted butter?" I asked, and she nodded. The whole room smelt both awful and delicious at the same time.

"Well, it _was_ melting before the microwave blew up on me." She exclaimed, picking up fragments of what used to be our microwave off of the ground. As she bent she put a hand on her back, trying to support it in a classic, 'don't-judge-me-I'm-pregnant' kind of way.

"Did you, by any chance, put a fork in the microwave?" I asked, surveying the danger zone.

"What-No! I'm not that stupid." She said, walking off and laying down on the couch, leaving me to clean up her mess.

"You want to explain to me what this means then?" I asked, holding up a very disfigured blackened fork. She shakes her head.

"Never seen that before." She laughed, knowing that there was nothing she could do at that point in time to make me angry. I walked over to her and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, before lying down on the floor next to her, closing my eyes.

"Hey! Are you going to clean that up?" she giggled.

"Don't worry, I got it covered." I said. Annabeth looked up over the couch, to see spouts of water, jetting themselves at the stains on the walls with bubbles appearing by the sink.

"That better dry itself Seaweed brain." She said, lying her head back down on the fluffy pillow. A small nerve twitches in the deepest part of the brain, signalling that I have no idea what to do next. Instead of actively doing something, I lay down and closed my eyes instead. Annabeth reached over me sometime in the next hour for the crossword. I guess I fell asleep somewhere through that time, but it felt like only minutes had past. "Oh good you're awake. What's a 7 letter word for matrimony?" she asked, and I snorted.

"Since when did you ask me for crossword advice? You're the one who practically tackled me down when I tried to fill in the three letter word for faeces." I said, and I could see her trying not to laugh.

"Percy- do you ever take a hint?" she asked her tone a little too serious.

"I feel you're trying to make a point." I said and she side, rolling on to her side and facing me from the above couch.

"My dad called…" she said, and I sighed. That's not good. Lately he's been calling a lot, wondering about the baby, the house and what size pants I am (seriously- he asked that).

"What did he want this time?" I asked, crossing my fingers that it was just a recipe for Annabeth's killer pie.

"He wanted to know why we aren't getting married." She said, and my stomach twisted. This conversation had resurrected from the dead. There followed a moment of silence, where I became very interested with the book Chiron had given me to read.

"What did you tell him?" I asked quietly.

"I told him that I didn't know." She said, getting up and walking to our room, shutting the door in my face.

An hour later I was still sitting outside our bedroom door, throwing a tennis ball against the wall opposite to me, filling in the time. "Annabeth- we've talked about this." I said, for what felt like the hundredth time. There was still silence from the other end of the door. "You said you wanted to wait." I said, hoping to piss her off a little. The door opened behind me, which also happened to be my back support, meaning I fell backwards onto her feet. She kicked me off. For a pregnant women she remains very feisty.

"Oh my Gods Percy- how could you say that!" she said, as I put my thumb and forefinger on the bridge of my nose.

"Because you said it!" I replied, getting off the ground.

"When did I ever say that!" she yelled, storming off in to the dining room.

"On the night of our anniversary- which you forgot- you said you didn't want to get married, because you didn't want it to hold us down in terms of battle and things." I said calmly.

"I didn't mean it! No girl means that." She said, pulling out a chair and sitting in it.

"So you're angry at me because you told me you didn't want to get married, which you didn't actually mean, and you wanted me to just guess." I said, and she was silent for a minute.

"Well… yeah." She said stubbornly. "I understand you don't want to get married- but- don't you think that would be best?" she asked, rubbing her slightly big stomach. I look down at it, and back at her.

"You think I don't want to get married?" I said, my heart beating faster, even though my voice stayed calm. I think it sounded a bit hurt, because Annabeth's grey eyes relaxed.

"Well- yeah. Just because I'm pregnant- it doesn't mean we have to get married. I thought that's what you thought.

"Annabeth- I've known you since I was twelve. We're 25 now, and still together. Do you really think I haven't wanted to get married to you since the day we met?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"We hated each other when we first met." She said quietly.

"That's not true. You hated me. I thought you were hot." I said, trying to get her to laugh, which she does quietly, before hitting me. "If you must know, I was going to propose on the night of our anniversary, before you whipped out that wonderful sentence, leaving m to think I had made the stupid mistake in buying the ring. Then we did that other thing which led to this other thing." I said, pointing at the baby. "Anyway- I plucked up the courage to ask you, but then you told me you were pregnant. I didn't want to propose- I didn't want you or anyone else to think that I was only proposing because you were pregnant." I said, and it was then that I realised how stupid I sounded. Obviously it wasn't too stupid, seeing as the next thing I knew she was kissing me. Her arms flew around me and she leaned back smiling.

"I love you so much, Percy Jackson." She said, and I smiled. Sometimes I forget that she's not just my best friend. She's more than that- I don't know what I would do without her- because I am completely and totally in love with her. What have I gotten myself into?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Ouch!" Annabeth yelled, holding onto the side of the car, as I turned off the road, still a few miles out from Camp Half blood. "Dammit Percy DRIVE!" she yelled, and my foot stepped down on the peddle harder, forcing us forward faster. "My grandma drives faster then this!" she yelled clutching her stomach and breathing weird excersizes she had been taught.

"I'm sorry- it was your choice not to fly Blackjack-" I said, defending myself while keeping my eyes on the road, considerering that if I didn look at her, she would be staring daggers at me.

"Percy- there are certain rules with pregnant demigods- one being do not stick them on a Pegasus!" she said, before yelling in pain and clutching my arm. She clutched my limb so hard I yelped in pain. It really wasn't going to help my case. It took another few minutes to pull into camp Half Blood, which as enough time for me to go partially deaf- Annabeth can sure scream when she's in pain. If she didn't scream when she was stabbed during the war with Kronus, I can't imagine how she's feeling right now. When we got out of the car I rushed to open the door for her, but she was already on to it, pretty much kicking it open.

"Hey Percy-" Jason said to me, as Annabeth and I speed walked to the Apollo cabin.

"Can't talk now- gotta go." I said, shutting Jason off and chasing after Annabeth, who was practically there already. When we knocked on the door I was happy to see Will Solace open the door. He- like Annabeth and myself- stay behind sometimes and help the other campers during the summer. He smiled when he saw us, which probably wasn't the best idea- considering Annabeth's state of mind. Luckily when Annabeth helped erbiuld the place, she added in a room specifically for emergency appointments at the Apollo cabin. It's hidden under a trapdoor, and is actually nice. Annabeth made sure it was properly furnished before she practically moved in. We seem to be here every other week, but I don't mind. They've got a great selection of magazienes in the waiting room, including 'Half-Blood Weekly.' Annabeth walked into the room, and when I followed after her she turned on me.

"Not today Percy. I just need- quiet." She said, and I frowned, before hanging back on one of the couches. Both Will and Annabeth disappeared into the room, before Jason showed up to join me, this time with Piper.

"Hey Percy." She said casually, sitting down opposite me and picking the copy of 'Half Blood Weekly' off of me. This week there was a very interesting article on why the Sphinx is a great house guest. "How's Annabeth." She asked, flipping through the pages.

"She was in a lot of pain." As if on cue, Annebeth yelped from the room over. I really hoped Will didn't stab her with a fancy docter utensil, considering he might leave without a head.

"I can tell." Jason said, sitting down next to me.

"Any news?" he asked and I shook my head- then I remembered.

"Actually yeah. We're getting married." I said, and they both looked at each other, before Jason started.

"Dammit!" he yelped, as Piper started to laugh, taunting him.

"Did I miss something?" I asked.

"Hand it over Grace- you owe me." She said, and I just sat confused.

"Did- were you guys betting on us?" I asked, and the both froze as Jason gave Piper a five dollar note from his pocket. Piper gave an awkward laugh.

"/you can join in on the bet- but it's a bit unfair, considering you're who we're betting on…" Piper said, and I rolled my eyes.

"What were you betting on anyway?" I asked, and they both went back to flipping through magazines.

"Jason thought that you would wait to propose until after Annabeth had the baby, but I thought you wouldn't be able to wait." She said, and I rolled my eyes.

"That would explain why you spent a day trying to explain the benefits of proposing now rather then later." I said, and she nodded.

"Hey man- no hard feelings. Your best friend won 5 bucks off your other best friend. It's a great day isn't it." She said and I ignored her as Annabeth gave another little yelp from inside. Jason must have seen me tense, seeing as the next moment he was sitting up.

"Percy- everythings fine in there. The only time for you to start worrying would be when you hear Will scream." He said and I laughed. After another 10 minutes Will opened the door, closing it quietly behind him. Annabeth was sound asleep on the doctors bed, as Will told me.

"So what's the news?" I asked, trying to hid being worried.

"She's actually fine. It' likely that she just ate something that was past its use-by date, and the baby wasn't liking it. He says and I smile.

"Phew- so can we go?" I asked, and Will looked back at the closed door which led to his office.

"Sure- just make the journey home quiet, and don't go over too many bumps." He said, I went into the office, and Annabeth slightly opened her eyes.

"Hey Percy- you remember that plan of letting the sex of the baby being a surprise?" she said sleepily.

"Yeah?"

"That's off- I think I saw it in Will's folder. Sorry." She said, drifting off to sleep. I gave a little laugh. I spent the next 30 minutes just sitting there watching her sleep, but after a while I think the entire Appolo cabin thought I was a weirdo, so I ended up carrying Annabeth over to the Poseidin cabin, considering the Athena cabin is pretty full. I put Annabeth in my old room, the sound of waves gently swaying her to sleep. Somewhere along I fall asleep next to her, before waking up to the sound of something rustling in the kitchen. I tried not to wake her up as I went to investigate, only to find Grover rustling thorough our fridge.

"Grover?" I asked.

"Ahh!" he yelled, holding a bad of cornchips close to his body.

"Shhhh!" I said, conscious of Annabeth in the next room. "What are you doing here?" I asked and he shrugged.

"Since you moved out I kind of use your fridge as a permanent supply of food. You know it refills when its empty right." He said, his voice really high pitched and dreamy.

"Yeah- I figured that out seeing as I did live here for 5 years." I said, as Grover smiled, before slowly backing out of the cabin, his hooves clicking on the ground.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey Percy- are you sure you want to go down this weekend? It says there's some bad weather coming." Annabeth shouted from the kitchen table. I lift her her bag over my shoulder and carried it out to our car, while she followed after me.

"We're going. We've changed our mind enough times already." I said and she smiled.

"Alright- if you say so." She said defensively. A gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before walking back inside and checking if I'd left anything. Luckily, our house isn't the biggest, meaning it's hard to forget something. "You should know though- I'm not swimming." She said and I poked my head out the doorway.

"How can you not swim? It's the beach. It's what you're meant to do. Not to mention your fiancé is a son of Poseidon." I said, walking out to the car after locking the door.

"I don't know, maybe because of this bump?" she said pointing at the baby.

"I think it's hot." I said, smiling and starting the car.

"Shut up and drive." She said playfully punching my arm.

We arrived at the beach two hours later, which was good time seeing as the traffic was pretty heavy. When we came in it was already pretty dark, and for Annabeth, it means sleep. Coming back after 14 years was weird- especially because this place is like a shack now, compared to the other houses. WE got into bed before almost immediately falling asleep. It was around 2 0'clock when I heard it. It was a gigantic bang that rocked the entire house. It looked like the bad weather Annabeth had promised had finally arrived. It took a louder bang to get Annabeth awake, considering shes a zombie when asleep.

"What was that!" she said, grabbing my arm.

"It looks like Zeus is having a bad day." I pointed out, before looking out the window to see the waves of the ocean crashing against each other like big fists of anger.

"Looks like Poseidon is in on it too." Annabeth said, lying down moaning. I felt something drip on my shoulder. I looked up to see that the last few years had not down this house will, seeing as it was about to combust on me.

"Annabeth- can you grab some buckets from under the kitchen sink?" I asked, starting to look around the house for more leaks.

"No." she said, but still getting up to grab them. I laughed as she threw me the buckets over the table.

"I guess we just have to sleep and check the damage in the morning." I said before crawling back in bed. Another roar of thunder shook the house. I didn't exactly get to sleep in the next half hour. I contemplated waking in Annabeth up, but considering she would abuse me if I even attempted it, I tuck with lying there and thinking about life. It took another 5 minutes of me thinking the house would come down any minute before Annabeth actually spoke to me.

"Percy- you awake?" she asked, and I gave a sigh of relief.

"Yeah. The storm isn't exactly the biggest advocate for sleep." I said, turning on my side to face her. "Want something to eat?" I asked and she nodded.

"Pancakes is exactly what I feel like." She said and I smiled. I got up and stretched, before walking to the kitchen looking for some pancake mix. I turned on the stove, only to find that the gas was out.

"How about some…" I said, looking through the cupboard "… 13 year old gum?" I asked.

"When was the expiry date?" she asked and I flipped the packet over looking for it.

"13 years ago…" I said, before throwing it in the bin, only to find a packet of Doritos I bought on the way down here. "Perfect." I mumbled, grabbing them and throwing them to her.

"Yes! I love you Percy Jackson." Annabeth said, opening the packet and breathing in the cheesy packet smell.

"Well since we're up, do you feel like telling me the sex of the baby?" I asked, trying to smooth it into the conversation. Apparently, there is no subtle way to do that.

"Percy- I'm not telling you." She said and I moaned.

"Come on Annabeth- it's not fair that you know and I don't." I said and she laughed.

"Percy we agreed we didn't want to know." She said, grabbing a bag of chips and stuffing them in her mouth.

"No, you decided that before you 'accidentally' saw it." I said and she rolled her eyes.

"Exactly my point. You only want to know because I do." She said as lightning flashed outside.

"It doesn't matter! Please just tell me- I want to know so I can start thinking of names." I said, smiling sort of embarrassed.

"You can think of baby names without knowing the sex of the baby." She points out. "Unisex names." She shrugs and I roll my eyes.

"Like what."

"Jessie." She said and I nodded.

"Well that's cool, but we can't name the kid Jessie." I said and she frowned.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Jessie is the name of that kid that accidently stabbed me in the toe at camp Half Blood. He said it was an accident but he was so smug when he did it. "I said, wincing as I remembered the pain.

"Ok well what about Ashley?" she said.

"Ashley is _not_ a unisex name." I said and she laughed.

"It is too!" she said.

"Name one male Ashley." I said and she frowned, trying to think.

"Ashley Carrington." She said proudly.

"Who?" I said, grabbing a bag of chips out of the bag.

"He's a writer." She said, smiling snidely.

"What did he write?" I asked, trying to catch her off guard, which I think I did, considering she went silent. "Ha- you just made him up."

"I did not!" she lied and I shook my head, laughing.

"What about Adrien?" I said and she raised her eyebrows.

"Adrien is a boy's name." she said, and I laughed.

"It's a girl's name too. Don't put up a fight against Adrien." I said defensively and she shook her head. It was when she reached for another handful when she winced.

"What is it- what's wrong?" I asked, immediately sitting up on the bed.

"The baby- she's kicking." Annabeth moaned, lying on her back. "Could you grab me some water. All those Doritos really dehydrated me." She said, but I didn't move. I smiled down at her, but it took her a moment to notice.

"Percy- the water isn't coming over here by itself.- well technically you could summon it but I would really prefer it in a glass." She said, rubbing a hand around the baby. I didn't move. "What- what's wrong?" she asked, getting up worriedly, as if there was something wrong. She grabbed her knife, ready to kill a monster.

"No-" I said, putting her hand down. "You just said the baby was a girl." I said, and she froze before looking at me.

"What- no I didn't." she said, shrugging.

"You did- you said 'she's kicking'. In my dictionary that means we're having a girl." I said smiling. She broke uneasily into a smile, realising she couldn't lie her way out of it. I grabbed her and kissed her, before lying down in bed with her.

"Can you make me a promise?" she said, braking away from a pretty good kiss.

"What's that, daughter of Athena?" I asked and she smiled.

"Son of Poseidon, do not name our girl Adrien."


	5. Chapter 5

When there's a raging storm that runs for 3 days, New York's time-zone kind of stops. Not like the Kronos time-stopping thing- more like everything comes to a holt, and most people don't bother getting out of bed and doing day to day activities. Annabeth and I had planned to be those people, until Chiron insisted that I come home right away through a very patchy iris message.

"Are you serious? We can't get anywhere in this traffic- the Brooklyn bridge is completely backed up." She said, and I sighed.

"I can't just ignore Chiron. He said it was an emergency." I said, grabbing an apple from the table, taking a bite.

"You're right- maybe you could take Blackjack?" she said seriously, already making a plan for me to get home.

"Yeah but he won't like it." I said, walking out the front door. "Blackjack- do me a solid I need you." I thought to myself, and partially said out loud. It took a few minutes for the familiar shape of my favorite Pegasus to appear out of the grey sky. He landed in front of me, taking a bite out of the apple I had been hoping to finish.

'_Hey Boss- is this an emergency because I would much rather be home-_'

"It's an emergency." I said, jumping on him, as he sighed before doing a weird hopping thing on his feet.

'_Figures'_ he muttered, which I chose to ignore._ 'So I guess it'll be camp half blood, considering they can't live a day with you?'_

"That's right." I said, looking around for Annabeth who stood in the kitchen. "Hey Annabeth- I'm leaving." I yelled. Her head poked up, and she did a little run out to come say good bye.

"I didn't realize you were leaving now. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, or as soon as the traffics died down." She said, crossing her arms.

"Sounds good- unless Blackjack feels like making a return trip to pick you up?" I said, and at the sound of it, Blackjack began backing away. I laughed before he turned around and flew off into the clouds. Seeing New York from the skies is usually an amazing sight to behold, only today, it looked like a grey mess. Everywhere I looked cars where stuck in a grid lock, bumper to bumper. I don't think Annabeth would make it back in a week's time, let alone tomorrow.

When I got to camp half-blood however, most people were just tired and in a bit of a daze. Jason greeted me at the entrance, and from the look on his face, things already didn't look great.

"Hey Percy." He said, rushing to get me to Chiron.

"Jason- what's going on?" I asked, following him through crowds of half-bloods.

"Um- there's been just a slight hick up at Camp Jupiter- you'll see." He said, pulling me in a different direction. Instead of taking me to Chiron's office like I thought he was planning, he pulled me towards the Apollo cabin. When Jason opened the door, an immediate stench washed over the place. Jason and I both put a hand over our noses, while most of the people in the cabin simply wore masks or plugs. Hazel sat crookedly, leaning over a small table which held what looked like a piece of someone's diner (after digestion). Upon further examination however, I noticed it had wings- a bird. Hazel looked up at me, and relief washed over her face. She got up and flung her arms around me.

"Percy- thank the gods!" she said, and I took another look around the busy room. Chiron was in his wheel chair, I'm guessing so he didn't take up half the room with his horse legs.

"Hazel- why is everyone standing around a bird?" I asked and she took a step back, a tear pouring down her face.

"It's not a bird- it's-"

"Frank" I muttered, suddenly making a connection.

"He can't turn back human- we're trying to figure out why, but he's been stuck like this for days." She said. Chiron wheeled himself over to me, holding a hand out to shake.

"It seems Mr. Zhang was flying over camp Jupiter to get to a meeting he arranged with Reyna, when he somehow managed to get himself caught in some plastic- then presumably smell in the sewers." Chiron said, as the bird on the table gave a flap of its wings. "If he changes into human form, he'll choke, and the plastic is not coming off, meaning for the time being, he's stuck." Chiron continued. I stood there for a minute, confused. It was just a piece of plastic- why couldn't anyone cut it? Or, why couldn't he just transform into something tiny and crawl out?

It was as if Hazel had read his mind when she stated, "It's not just that he would choke if he transformed into something small. He can't transform- he physically can't." Hazel explained, as Percy nodded.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Percy asked, and it was as if the moment of truth had come.

"Percy- while Franks gone, there is no Praetor at camp Jupiter…" Jason started.

"What about Reyna?" I asked, and everyone looked away.

"Reyna's missing. Her and Frank seemed to have a fight about something and they had arranged a meeting to talk about the problem, when this happened. We believe she thinks this is her fault." Chiron said, and I swallowed. How had so much happened in so little time.

"So you want me to go in both their places at Camp Jupiter?" I asked and everyone held their breaths. "Why can't Jason go?" I asked and everyone sighed.

"I accepted a quest from Jupiter with Piper. It's simple but may take some time. I can't really say no now." He said, and a quiet murmur arose from the crowd of ten people in the room.

"So I'll be in New Rome filling in as Praetor?" I asked, and Hazel laughed.

"God's help New Rome." She said.

"God's help _me_- wait till Annabeth hears, and I'll be the one missing.

Hazel decided she couldn't leave Frank alone at Camp Half blood, but she did lend me a Drachma to tell Annabeth. I walked out to the lake, creating a soft mist which led to a rainbow. I flipped my Drachma into the lake before thinking deeply 'Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering.' Before saying Annabeth's name. Almost immediately her face appeared reading a book I bought her for her birthday 'Architects, the untold story'. She looked up just in time to see me.

"Percy- what was the emergency?" she asked, straightening up and patting down her hair.

"It's Frank- he's changed form into a bird and can't get out. Reyna's involved and now there are no praetors at Camp Jupiter. They were looking for someone to fill in the position but everyone's busy, meaning-"

"Lucky you…" she murmured.

"I don't have to do it though- if you don't want me to." I said, slightly hoping she would beg me to stay.

"No- of course you have to. What about Reyna- is she ok?" she asked, a tad bitter. If I know anything, it's that Annabeth and Reyna are a recipe for disaster, particularly because they are so alike/

"She was in a fight with Frank before it happened and now she thinks it's all her fault. She's disappeared into the blue. She'll turn up though. "I said, not knowing just hoping.

"Well I'll go look for her." Annabeth said, getting up and stretching.

"No- are you crazy? You can't go on some crazy quest now." I said, looking at her growing stomach.

"If you're saying that just because I'm pregnant, I swear I'm going to kill someone." She said, and I don't doubt it.

"Look- if you go on a mission now that's fine, but just promise me you'll be careful. I doubt any monsters will back off from someone just because she's pregnant. "

"Percy if you had any idea how boring wedding planning really is, you'd be trying to find Reyna too." She said.

"Fine- just be careful." I said, knowing I'd later come to regret saying it.

"You too seaweed brain."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Percy! Thank the Gods you showed up-"Michael Kahale said to me.

"Yeah- it's been a while. What have I missed?" I asked, grabbing my bags and lofting them over my shoulder.

"Uh… well- camp's kind of gone crazy since both Reyna and Frank left- though to be honest, it's kind of been building up since…" Michael said, before quieting down. I stopped walking for a moment, looking at him for further explanation, but he didn't seem to notice. In fact, it was like he's never said it at all. The last time I was at Camp Jupiter, was when I finished college. Annabeth was staying behind for a year because she was taking extra courses, which meant that I spent most of my spare time hanging around. At first everything was great- people were so lively and happy- finally at peace. Both camps were discovering each other, and people were travelling every so often, not letting the distance bother them. Everything was colorful- there was always music playing, and people held parties every weekend. After time the novelty wore off, and people went back to their everyday lives. Annabeth and I left two years after the war with Gaia, and I hadn't really been back for more than a week since.

Everyone I walked past gave me grunts, while others shouted, partially over excited to see me. One guy I saw- Jacob I think- Actually jumped when he saw me. The music had stopped since I was last there, people were isolated and cold, not really speaking to each other unless it was necessary. Most of the Cohorts weren't even making eye contact. When I finally reached the center of camp, I feel weighed down. "Percy! Great to see you man- you coming tonight?" Marcus, son of Ares asked me. I smiled at him.

"Of course." I said, which seemed to emit a spark of excitement with the campers. "Michael." I murmured, trying not to show any hint of doubt. "What's going on tonight?" I asked, and he cringed.

"The opening to the war games." He said.

"What?" I turned, as everyone went silent. "I swear they were only a month or two ago. Considering their an annual event, don't you think you should wait for, I don't know, at least a year?" I asked, and Michael cringed again.

"Percy, with all due respect, this is all we have going for us now." Michael said, and I nodded, pretending to understand. The war games have never been my favorite part of Camp Jupiter, considering the violence used. I like a good match as much as any demi god, but at Camp Half Blood, Capture the flag is a game, using our training exercises and gifts, but here, it's a competition- a fight.

"Ok- so we'll be doing what- siege?" I asked, hoping the answer would be yes, seeing as it's the most like Capture the Flag.

"Nope- we're starting off with Deathball." Jacob called and I smiled hastily at him, before dragging Michael into the nearest empty house.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked and him and he sighed. "What the hell is going on here. Deathball? _Deathball_? No one's played that in at least 4 years. Not since the war with-" I said, and Michael looked away- "… Gaia".

"Look Percy- I know it's a handful to take in, but it's the way we are, so I think you need to try. I'll send in Jacob later to help with your armor." He said, before exciting the room.

4 hours later

Deathball wasn't starting for another 20 minutes, and yet I was still going over the plan in my head. So far I'd gotten up to, avoid acid balls and hide. It wasn't much, but I was never one for making plans, that was always Annabeth.

"Percy? Let's go." Jacob said, dragging me out to the Field of Mars. He takes me into a room used for battle preparation, where the entire fifth cohort stood waiting for me.

"Hi." I said, a little uncomfortably. "Who's ready for some Deathball?" I asked, and everyone started jeering and shouting. "Alright, I think our best tactic is to find a safe house, where we hide and wait it out until only one cohort is left. Then we'll take them by surprise, and finish off." Everyone looks at each other.

"Um Percy- How about instead, we kick butt?" Leila, a 15 year old girl I've spoken to once or twice interrupted, and everyone cheered, before picking up a chant. "Kick Butt, Kick butt, kick butt." They shouted, walking out the room with all weapons.

"Come on Percy what are you so worried about- it's just paintball when you think about it." Jacob says, and I laugh.

"Yeah, paint ball with acid, poison and fireballs. No biggie. I said, grabbing a trident I see in the corner of the room. My favorite. My finger rubs over something carved in the wood, and when I picked it up I noticed it had written on it 'For Frank'. I looked at Jacob, grabbing his bow and arrow, searching for the same symbol. Like mine, it's written on each bow and I smiled.

"Franks going to be ok you know." I said to him, and he smiled, before grabbing his bow and walking out the room. We waited on the edge of a small patch of trees, before the siren went off. Everything was silent, and I looked around, trying to become more aware of our surroundings.

"Ok, let's try and find some more cover- a cave or-" I began before Leila interrupted.

"I see something- its Bobby- son of Ares. He's in the first Cohort- if we take him down now it will be a major blow to their team." She said, and everyone nodded. "LETS GO" she screamed, before charging like a maniac out into the open. Everyone chanted on their way out, before they were immediately taken down by acid balls. In the first minute, half of our team was on the ground writhing in pain. Leila was shot, but she had the sense to duck when acid balls were near, and was only hit in the thigh.

"Retreat!" I yelled, and everyone seemed to like that order now, especially compared to Leila's. around 10 people lay on the ground, and when they were ready, walked off the field to safety. The only good thing about deathball, was the feast after you'd been taken out.

"Alright everyone, find cover. Stay in a 100 meter radius- next time you see someone, wait until they're close enough and shoot. Keep silent, and don't get shot." I said, and everyone nodded, immediately branching off into groups. Most people settled for hiding in trees, while I walked over to a small pond I eyed before we started. I walked into the water and hoped no one stepped on me. It took 5 minutes for someone to come even moderately close to me, and when they did, I was distracted by what they were saying.

"Search all the trees, and once, we're done burn them." Someone said, while her two companions scurried off.

"Won't we attract attention?" one said, and the leader laughed.

"That's what we want- besides it's not like we're the only ones. First and fifth cohort are making a racket shouting out Frank and Reyna every chance they get. "she said, and the other laughed. That's when a cry went up, followed by a bullet.

"Shh- did you hear that?" she said, and that's when I moved. I rose out of the water as silently as possible, before aiming at both they're feet. I wasn't about to give them a heart attack- shooting was enough.

"Dammit." The girl I recognized as Carrie moaned. Dropped her weapons and walked out, her friend following closely behind her. The rules of deathball say that once you've been hit, no words are to be spoken about the location of any cohort on the walk out. Saying this, I don't have complete trust in Carried, meaning I summoned the rest of our cohort and moved to another space.

"Percy- you realize if we win you have to give a speech at the feast- what would you say?" Jacob said, and I looked around. Everyone began climbing trees again, going into hiding, waiting to pounce.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The last shot was actually fired by Leila, who then went on to apologies for 'taking control' over the praetor. Afterwards, most campers went to the hall to have their share of the feast, but I went straight back to Frank's room. Technically it was mine, but I knew it would never be home. The only home I had found was Camp Half Blood, and wherever Annabeth was. Speaking of Annabeth, I needed to make a quick call, considering I'd told her that I'd call her as soon as I got to Jupiter. While making phone calls are considered dangerous, I didn't have a Drachma on me, and Annabeth was safe at camp half blood, so I pulled out my phone and speed dialed her number.

"Percy?" she asked, and I smiled. I hadn't heard her voice in a while, and it was a relief.

"Hey." I said, and I could hear her sigh, before getting angry.

"Why didn't you call? I was worried." She said and I laughed, knowing that would probably make it worse.

"It's good to hear from you too." I said. "How's the baby girl?" I asked when she replied, I could hear her smiling.

"Good- she's kicking all the time and it's really starting to get on my nerves. She misses her dad though." Annabeth said, and I took a deep breath. The word dad wasn't really common among others in my brain. I didn't really have a dad growing up, and smelly Joe was about as far from dad then a toilet was to a pair of hippie pants. Now all of a sudden, I would be a dad, and to say I'm scared, would be the understatement of the century.

"Yeah well, I'd much be at home with the two of you then here." I said, and there was silence on the other end of the line.

"What's it like?" she asked, and I sighed.

"This place- it's not at all what it was like when we were at college. Everyone's really torn up about losing both the Praetors, and I don't think I can fill in the gap." I said, doubt filling my voice.

"Percy you're doing everything you can." She said, a quiver in her voice.

"I know that too- but it's not just that- it's been going on for a while before that. After the war with Gaia- I think they took it harder than camp half blood. At first it was all smiles and parties but now- now it's finally settled that they're not getting back the people they last. Then Frank and Reyna both go missing and its as though nothing can be fixed… How is Frank anyway?" I asked, and Annabeth sighed through the phone.

"Its getting worse- the cord around his neck is starting to strangle him. We think it has some form of poison in it- the more he tries to crawl out, the more it hurts. Hazels researching it now." She said.

"And what about Reyna- had any luck finding her?" I asked, and Annabeth seemed to have more luck with that.

"Yes! Well sort of- I had a dream the other night, where her face appeared in front of the San Fransisco bridge- I'm leaving tonight actually." She said, and I sighed.

"You sure there's nothing I can do to talk you out of this right?" I asked and she laughed.

"Just wish me luck Seaweed Brain. Love you." She said, and I returned the compliment before the line went dead.

"I'm guessing that wasn't Grover on the phone…" Michael said, and I laughed.

"Nah- Annabeth." I said, and he sat beside me. We sat in silence for a minute, before he spoke.

"I'm guessing you've noticed then- the mood over Camp Jupiter." He said, and I smiled.

"Yeah- it's not really what I was expecting. Last time I was here, it was so different." I said, and he nodded, looking over the quite city.

"It's not what any of us was expecting. People die all the time you know- but when it's someone you've grown up with, and lived with, it feels like a part of you goes missing." He said. Even thinking about it sends a shiver down my spine. I still don't get up a day without thinking about Leo. Even if Piper is adamant that he'll show up one day. Losing anyone else would push me over the edge- losing Annabeth would kill me.

"A few weeks back, before the whole Praetor fiasco, we finally were getting on our feet. We decided we'd build a memorial- a real one. It was Frank, Reyna and I working on it, and we all agreed on everything. I missed our 5th meeting, and in the space of an hour everything went haywire. I finally came and the place was a mess. The last I saw of Frank was him flying off in one direction and Reyna storming off in the other. I haven't talked about the memorial since." Michael finished, and I let out a breath of air I didn't know I'd been holding.

"I think it's time everyone got up and stopped this haze of disbelief. Bad things happen, but we can't live in the shadow of everything that's ever hurt us. We also can't hold War games every time we need to let some anger air out." I argue and Michael nods.

"Sorry about that- but hey- you won". He said and I nodded. "Speaking of- you should be giving a speech right about now." He mentioned and I groaned.

"I was hoping you would forget about that. " I said and he chuckled. We slowly walked to the Hall where things were eerily quiet. People sat in small groups of threes, and while some people were silent, others murmured and whispered gossip[ and secrets.

"Everyone- listen up." I yelled and all heads turned to face me. "It's been a long few years. Today we fought a great game of Death ball, but winning and losing didn't define us like we'd hoped…" everyone turned to look at each other sadly, before facing me. "I know, how you're feeling. Three years ago we all fought in a war that hit us hard. We've all lost someone we loved or cared about, and I'm not an expert of death, or consolation, but I do know that living in the present is much better than living in the past. Michael here, is going to be helping finish building a memorial that he Frank and Reyna had planned on building. Anyone who wants to put forth ideas to say good bye to their loved ones should speak to him." I yelled, and everyone's focus turned to Michael, who gave a feeble 'hi'. I hadn't spoken about any of this to him, but I felt like he's be ok with it.

"I think that it's time to start being the sons and daughter of Gods once again. How long has it been since any of you have been on a quest for the gods. How long has it been since any of you finished a personal best or tried their hardest at something and received great results." I paused as everyone gave out comforting smiles. "Camp Jupiter is a wonderful place of safety and more importantly, family. I'm old- nearly 26, and while I'm only a replacement Praetor, it doesn't mean that we can't restore this place to it's former glory. Does that sound like a plan?" I shout, and the crowd gives a murmur 'yes' and 'I guess so'. "I can't hear you- Does it?" I yell louder, and everyone starts to speak up. "YES" they shout back at me, and everyone seems to catch on. "YES!" they shout. Everyone gets up and starts hugging each other and crying, ready to start something new. "Good! Now let's eat!" I yell.


End file.
